Erisco: NAFDAC Confirms Company Is Duly Registered, Says Tomato Pastes Containing Sugar Are Safe For Consumption

 The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has clarified that tomato pastes containing sugar are safe for human consumption.

The agency made the clarification in the wake of the ongoing rift between Erisco Foods Limited, manufacturer of Nagiko tomato paste, and a consumer identified as Chioma Egodi, who gave a review of the product.

It would be recalled that on September 17, Egodi on her Facebook page made a post claiming that after tasting Nagiko Tomato mix, she found it sugary.

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Erisco Foods, producers of Nagiko Tomato in their reaction to the claim described it as “untrue and unfounded”.

Erisco further averred that Egodi's social media post was intended to mislead customers and discredit its image “as previously instigated by some elements and syndicates who are uncomfortable with our increasing market dominance as a leading indigenous manufacturer of 100% natural tomato pastes”.

The police later arrested Edogi after the company filed a complaint about the post.

NAFDAC in a statement on Friday confirmed that Nagiko tomato mix is a registered product, quoting the product’s registration number of the company as A8-7430.

“The product is not yet on our database due to a significant backlog. We are actively updating the Registered Products Database and addressing the backlog,” the statement reads.

NAFDAC used the opportunity to state that the formulation of tomato paste and ketchup products with sugar “is safe for consumption”.

“Sugar is added to these products for a number of reasons, including but not limited to masking bitterness, enhancing colour and flavour, improving texture and taste consistency, and as a preservative,” the agency added.

“The safety limits of sugar in food products are determined by NAFDAC, and only sugar-containing products within these safety limits are approved by NAFDAC.“